Unlikely Yankees star could soon make pitching appearance?

Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA Today Sports

The New York Yankees are absolutely vaporizing their opponents right now, so much so that they may have to start making things a bit more interesting for themselves.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said following Saturday’s victory over the Chicago Cubs that the most likely position player to pitch for the team if the situation were to arise would be veteran slugger Anthony Rizzo. Boone adds that Rizzo bugs him to pitch every other day, per Erik Boland of NewsDay.

On Sunday, the Yankees cruised to another emphatic win, this time topping the Cubs 18-4. Despite the lopsided score, Rizzo did not get a chance to pitch against his former team as Yankees reliever Manuel Banuelos threw the final three innings. Boone said after the game though that Rizzo would have been next up had the ninth inning been a long one.

Aaron Boone says Anthony Rizzo was wearing him out for multiple innings, asking if he could pitch.

Asked if he considered bringing him in for the ninth inning, Boone said:

“No, but had it got to be a long inning … next up would’ve been Rizz.”

— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) June 12, 2022

The 32-year-old Rizzo has not yet pitched for the Yankees since joining them last season. But he did take the hill twice already as a Cub (once in 2018 and once in 2021). In 2018, Rizzo retired the only batter he faced, while in 2021, he pitched 0.2 innings with a walk and (shockingly enough) a strikeout.

If and when Rizzo makes to make it onto the mound for the Yankees, he will have some steep competition to live up to. Just a few days ago, another well-known position player went viral for the smoke that he brought on the hill.